What's the deal?
by The Crimson Tiger
Summary: Yang has the burning desire to know about the people around her. When Ren and Nora seem particularly hard to figure out she persists in trying to find out more about them. She manages to corner Ren and puts forth to him a single question that will be the key to unlocking to her not only his past, but Nora's as well. [Renora Family or Renora ship depends on reader interpretation]
1. A want to Know

**Note:** Hello RWBY fans. I don't know what actually provoked this. If I were to consider it greatly I'd imagine it actually stemmed from observing how bloody nosey my sister is. We'll go with that for now.

The idea of this is that Yang, like my sister is nosey. She is enticed to question Ren about his past. What follows here is the prelude to that 'interview'. Later chapters will be the actual interview.

Please enjoy

Thank you,

C.T.

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**A want to know**

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Yang prided herself in, well, herself. She had always known from the time she was a child who she wished to be in life and not once in her seventeen years could she ever remember disappointing that forethought visage of herself. She was a strong willed and strong bodied young woman with a quick wit and a sharp mind. Physically she retained all the effort of so many years of training, each muscle strand pulsing with the muscle memory of each and every stretch or strain. She was sleek yet far more so she was tough and she'd never met a person who would question the strength (or beauty) of the well honed instrument that was her body. But as proud of her body as Yang so very much was, she was far prouder of the capacity of her mind.

The golden haired martial artist was actually well versed at memory exercise. As long as something came across as being useful to her or was of her interest she would retain that information like a greedy squirrel hoarding nuts. Every tip and manoeuvre her battle instructors had ever taught her was etched into the back of her mind and glowed brightly the moment the tidbit was needed. However, that was all useful information and though it was interesting it was only so much so as boys, and gossip and the newest upgrade to her battle bracers. Beyond the like she had for these normal things, she held an interest in one thing that was ever more exciting then anything else she'd ever encountered.

People.

By far, above anything Yang Xiao Long had interacted with, people were by far the most entertaining. Everyone of them was different in appearance, in reaction, in thought and in feeling. She had yet to get bored in the presence of a group of people for either on their own or with a little push any monotony could be churned into an intriguing storm of chaos. Above that though, there was the intrigue in each person individually. Everyone had a reason for everything. Sure, sure everyone was born with genetic imprints but most of the rest of it was bore from experience and no one ever had the same experience as the person next to them; everyone perceives things differently after all.

People were so unpredictable in a way that was attractively delicious. You could always assume one thing and then rapidly find out that no, that's wrong. One tall angry boy could just constantly be in agony from a muscle condition while another was just a big ass. The class whore, who you thought had slept with every boy in school, was actually giving private tutoring sessions and that was why male students had been in her dorm. Assumptions were an evil tool utilized in so many ways by so many people and just added spice to the boiling cauldron of entropy that was the human and faunas races. Though Yang herself was, perhaps a bit too much, fond of the usage of assumptions by others, she really endeavoured not to swing that hammer. Why?

Because she wanted to know the truth.

But why such an insistent want for the truth? Nothing so elaborate as detached observation for scientific reasons no...Yang's reason was...entertainment. The lives of others and the complexity they wove was like the juicy lead up to future events. To her, watching others and knowing about them was like getting heavily involved in the drama or potential for drama in a movie or a soap opera. She would learn everything she could about a person then watch them. When they'd approach their crush, she'd giggle like a school girl or get offended if the affection was declined. When watching a fight, if she knew fighter A had a strong ambition to excel at fighting when Fighter B was just an aloof goof with natural talent she'd cheer and boo appropriately feeling as though she was emotionally invested in the outcome.

Her reasoning seemed more selfish then it was. If Yang held one trait true to her younger sister it was, she genuinely cared about people. The more she knew about them, the more she cared and...the more their lives ensnared her like a midschooler reading a heavy novel. In that way everyday life for her was far more exciting then most people ever dreamed of it being.

The mindset left her with a problem however. Yang couldn't stand it when she didn't know something. More specifically she abhorred when she didn't know something about someone she spent anytime in the proximity of. If a certain group of people were to be her company for longer then a few days she would make it her mission to dig up their stories. Likes, interests and hates were all nice tidbits but what she really liked to hear was the tales that wove them. Everyone was made of threads created by emotion and experience woven together by needles of opinion and desire. Yang was determined to pluck at everyone of these strings.

Team RWBY hadn't been any exception. She interrogated her sister to squeeze from her any detail she didn't already know then quickly moved on to Weiss. The heiress had been easy to extract information from. The moment she became flustered she spilled everything. Family life, dreams and desires. Simple. Blake had been more of a pain. Her answers were general and dismissive which was frustrating but Yang was well versed in the game so she waiting. Waiting was fruitful. After the incident at the docks with the White Fang Blake was far more open about her past. Yang was apologetic for her Faunas friends rough past but also inwardly her desire to know was satiated.

Team JNPR wasn't safe either. Pyrrha had actually been the easiest. Yang had just sat down with her at breakfast one morning and started asking questions. Turns out the girls past wasn't complex – or at least not as much as Yang had thought. Jaune on the other hand hadn't been as co-operative. She literally had to corner the boy and threaten him with embarrassment before he'd spill any information. But spill he did and once more her desire was quelled.

Then there was Nora. That had gone either very very well or just...didn't? Yang wasn't sure. She had approached the Valkyrie and proposed a sparring match. While they were sparring Yang would toss questions out and Nora would respond with answers. The blonde brawler just wasn't sure if they were the right answers or if they were even relevant answers. For example the Question "So where'd you grow up?" was asked. The response was. "In a biiggg house!" Yang never thought she was lying but vague was the running theme. Vague answers were like feeding her want of knowledge a cracker when it wanted a steak. Mildly settling but in the end not enough. However it became painfully apparent to Yang that questioning Nora would just make her starve to death. The girl was either disinterested, screwing with her, really flighty or stupid. Or any combination there of. So quickly after the duel Yang disengaged to reassess her target. What would get her closer to learning how Nora thought? Was that even possibly? Not two minutes later the answer, so idiotically simply she'd verbally berate herself for not realizing, walked through the door.

Lie Ren.

That moment marked the beginning to what Yang would later realize would be one of the most frustrating chases of her life. It would also be the prelude to one of the most enlightening conversations she would ever have.

"Hey Ren." She spoke in nearly a coo as her lavender eyes locked on to the boy. Her expression was sly but if it affected him she'd note no reaction.

"Yang." He'd reply in his normal tone.

She'd smile like a fox at a mouse. "What say we have ourselves a little sparring match?"

"No thanks."

"But-"

Her protest didn't stop his retreat from the room. He had turned and he'd just walked away, Nora buzzing around him excitedly while she reiterated her match. Yang was left with her jaw open slightly, appalled at how easily she was dismissed. After a moment of crossed arms and grumbling the beautiful warrior thumped a fist into her palm, deciding that it wasn't over. She'd just catch him somewhere else.

The same day she caught Ren by himself in line at the cafeteria. One look at his tray and she knew he was gathering food for Nora and not himself. The opportunity felt perfect. She slid in beside him and drew his attention once more with her voice.

"That's a lot of dessert you've got there. Didn't think you like sweets that much."

He gave her the shadow of a shrug.

Still she pushed. "Is it for Nora?"

He made a motion with his head and a sound that Yang could decipher as a yes or a no. At this she'd raise a brow wondering if he considered her questions to be prying as they were and not as the friendly conversation they were supposed to be veiled as.

Still she tried again, a different subject this time.

"So hey, where are you from? I don't think you've ever said anything about where you've grown up?"

This enticed a reaction. He looked at her though only sideways and repeated her enquiry. "Where I grew up?"

"Yeah!" She responded, excited by the progress.

"A big house." With that he grabbed a health shake and returned to his table.

Yang was pissed. She felt like her expression was some twisted child of irritation and dejection. Irritation would eventually over power the dejection when she heard Ruby and Blake snickering at her face from a few tables away. She huffed.

"No one else has ever gotten away and neither will you. I just gotta figure this out."

Her next attempts met with the same resistance. She tried multiple approaches but none seemed to work at all. In fact, 'A big house' was honestly the most enlightening answer she had received. Ren had initially pointedly but after so many attempts he just ignored her. So she had to step back and rethink her strategy.

However after a few solid minutes of contemplation Yang realized that she didn't know anything about either Ren or Nora. Well she knew Nora liked pancakes and syrup and fighting and that Ren could make good pancakes and tolerate no syrup on his pancakes but that was...really it. She had nothing to use as leverage. Jaune she'd been able to bully, Ruby she had been able to harass. Weiss had just spilled after being torqued and Blake she'd had only needed to be patient. Something told her not one of those things would work at all with Ren. There was no extension she could place on her pitiful well of knowledge concerning the two JNPR members other then they were very VERY close. Despite how intimate they seemed both swore they were only childhood friends.

"Hmm. Friends huh?" She pondered, the stressed gears of her mind turning. "I think I'll have a talk with Jaune and Pyrrha."

So that is what she did. She caught the two one night during their sparring sessions on the roof and grilled them as subtly as possible about the other members of JNPR.

"Well." Jaune had said to respond amidst struggling against a choke hold Pyrrha's steel grip had entrapped him in. "I know Nora really likes pancakes. And Syrup. I have to keep some hidden if I uh" He paused to cough. "I ever want any."

Pyrrha seemed like she was a bit more invested in the conversation. She looked in the rooms direction, a look of contemplation upon her pretty face before she too offered up an answer. "And Ren makes very delicious pancakes. He is very quiet and attentive to little details. He cleans his weapons a lot."

"Like any." Jaune added while clawing a bit more at Pyrrha's arm. "And uh..." He wheezed. "Uh Nora...she sleeps with him sometimes."

"Platonically."

"Yeah. Like...cuddles." Another wheeze.

Yang had given a bit of a huff. They didn't know any more then she did. "Cuddles? Eh I'm not really surprised. C'mon there's gotta be something other then that."

Jaune's clawing became a bit more frantic. "Uh ... P-pyrrha?"

His whispered voice was missed.

"Well. Ren's endurance does seem to be a bit low." The Spartan commented, though hesitantly. "Though I am unsure why."

"P-pyrrha!" Heavy wheezing now, though still unnoticed as the two woman concentrated.

"He seems to be aware of the issue though and is unconcerned. Therefore I doubt he is ill, if that is what you're wondering."

Yang shrugged. "Not really. Anything else?"

"Nothing that I can think of. What about you Jaune?"

Silence.

"Jaune?"

Both Yang and Pyrrha glanced down at him and both were startled at his red faced unconscious form. The Spartan exclaimed and released the hold hurriedly make sure he was still alive and chant his name upon discovering he was. As she had shaken him and pleaded for him to wake up and forgive her, Yang sat thinking. "Low endurance huh...Maybe I can get at his pride and use that..."

Three days later would be the chance she patiently waited for. Both teams were out in the Beacon track field attending mandatory outdoor physical training. The thing that made the situation ideal was that though it was a necessary class with a teacher the students were allowed to pick the activity as long as they participated in some way. From previous classes, Yang knew that Ren always ran the track. She didn't know why he didn't participate in the other activities he just didn't. So there she await his arrival in her track gear, pumped up and ready to spring her trap.

Her teammates noticed her piled energy and quirked at her

"Yang, what is wrong with you?" Weiss enquired a bit harshly, though a bit cautiously. Yangs ire was not something anyone wanted to deal with.

"I'm pumped! Today I'll figure it all out!"

Blake piped up next. "Figure...what out?"

Yang started to stretch as if preparing for a marathon. "That boy's been driving me crazy! I'll figure him out even if it kills me! No one gets away from Yang Xiao Long!"

"Oh no guys. She's doing it again." Ruby sighed, hanging her head as she knew the situation was unavoidable now.

"Doing what?"

"That thing where she _has_ to know something about someone. Remember when she like threatened to wreck all Jaune's clothes and parade him around the school in a corset if he didn't tell her the name of his childhood dog?"

"Oh yeah. Like the time she locked me in the team room and interrogated me about my childhood."

Blake seemed the least bothered. "I had a relatively easy time conversing with her about my childhood."

Ruby looked jealous. "Lucky. She just gave me noogies until I spilled everything. They hurt!"

"Wait you? Didn't you two grow up together?"

"Mostly! See how its not fair?!"

Yang had heard none of this. She remained stretching and staring at the school exit awaiting the arrival of the two bodies that were the object of her most recent attentions. She wasn't disappointed. Very soon after her stare had focused on the doors both Ren and Nora appeared in their track clothes and they were headed right towards the RWBY girls.

"Hiii~!" Nora greeted them, bouncing from foot to foot with ever present effervescence.

Yang sprung to her feet, her smirk reflecting devious intentions. "Hi guys! Out on the track today?" Though she was looking at Ren, he didn't make any motion to respond. He didn't need too it was done for him.

"Ren always runs on the track! I think the track is boring so I go and play Grifball with some of the other students. They won't let me use Magnhild but that's okay because I'm adaptable or so Ren tells me! I think he likes the quiet on the track though that's why he runs it so much."

Yang focused on Ren during this. She had never really paid attention before but the boy didn't move to interrupt Nora at all. In fact he seemed stoically content to let her speak for him. Instead of putting forth the energy to stop her he just started to stretch. It was odd and...convenient.

She decided to test something.

"All the time huh? Bet that means he's really good at it?"

"The best!" Nora responded while nodding. "Like perfect!"

Yang was unable to contain the creeping upturn of her lips as her smirk began to grow. "Perfect? That's great. Because I was looking to race someone today! You know just see who could run for longer. Nothing better then running against the best." She paused ever so briefly to catch Ren's eyes on her. She noted they were narrowed as if he was trying to decipher her intentions. "Right Nora?"

This excited Nora. She jumped and pumped her arm once, the idea of two people locked in competition riling her competitive side. "YES! Ren will kick your butt!"

"Oh I don't think so! How about we make a bet huh?"

"You're sooo ON!"

The urge to laugh like some 'B' movie antagonist phased over Yang, suppressed only by the urgency to press onward before someone had the right mind to stop her twisted ploy. "Alright! So if-"

"Nora." Ren's voice entered the conversation. Yang quickly continued.

"If Ren wins I'll buy you a whole CASE of syrup!"

"Heeee! Wait. How does that help Ren?"

Ren tried to speak again and Yang so quickly cut him off. "It'll make you, his friend, happy and I'll...get him...A really great weapon cleaning kit! For Ren's Stormflowers!"

This time Ren was cut off by a thoroughly ecstatic Nora. "DEAL!"

"And If I win Ren just has to answer one teeny tiny question for me. But completely and thoroughly. All aspects of it. No one word answers or something like that."

"Doesn't matter because Ren won't lose!" Nora sung, now hugging her best friends arm like it was her favourite thing in the whole world. "Right Ren?"

"I haven't agreed to this." He spoke with tone flat and eyes piercing Yang.

Despite the fact she was being glared at not only by Ren but by her teammates as well Yang still smiled oh so sweetly at him. "You'll win no matter what right? So whats it gonna hurt to promise me you'll answer one little bitty question?"

"No"

"Nora thinks you can do it."

All glares intensified.

Disdain. It was the only way she could describe the look in his magenta eyes."Very well. I promise."

"Yay Ren! Don't worry, Ren NEVER forgets a promise! And He'll NEVER break it! Not that he'll have too because he's the best! Now go RACE!" She pointed in a strangely demanding manner in a tone similar to the one she'd used when suggesting Cardin's legs be broken. "Competition is good for the soul!"

Everyone was bit taken back by the short girl's sudden intensity. All except for Ren who sighed audibly and approached the track.

Yang's plan worked perfectly. Talking to Jaune and Pyrrha had been the smartest thing she'd done as the tidbit of information about Ren's endurance had been key. Yang had trained her entire life for strength of body and one could not achieve that strength without pressing for physical longevity. That was irrelevant though. If she had been the weakest student on campus she would have won the race if only out of pure determination. Sure he held on at a steady pace for awhile – though how long she wasn't sure. Time didn't exist to her, only the goal at the end. He could have ran for 5 hours and she would have ran for 5 hours and one minute even if it had nearly killed her. She would get to ask that question. She had the entire run to consider what that one question would be. It had to be vague yet have a point. An all encompassing enquiry that could give her some form of insight into both his and Nora's past. Asking about his home was too general, asking about his childhood could leave his answer undefined. No it had to be personal yet not...

As frustrating as this conundrum was, Yang found an answer. She would stop, out of breath, leaning over where Ren had collapsed to the gravel of the track heaving for the breath his lungs so desperately required. "Library...tonight. Don't bring Nora. No...whoo...No excuses. Whoo!" She reached down and patted his shoulder before she was forced to step aside to allow Nora access to her friend.

Yang walked away, catching Nora's calmer but still happy reassurance as she did. "S'ok Ren. I know you're still the best." The blond thought it was cute but offhandedly as she was still quite absorbed in her victory.

"You're evil" Weiss stated as they passed one another invoking a heavy shrug and a eh from Yang.

"I'm just ambitious."

"And evil." Ruby enforced before she too went to Ren's aid.

"Hey it was fair! He agreed! Geez No one appreciates friendly competition any more! Bets just make them better!

* * *

Evening didn't come fast enough for Yang. She kept as preoccupied as she could to whisk the time away but it crept by. Every glance at the clock felt like the hands were mocking her by reversing their direction every third time she'd peek. Aggravated but not discouraged she finished her final class, had the days final work out, showered, ate dinner and then parked herself in the back most table of the Library. She waited for the most agonizing twenty minutes of her entire life before she spotted Ren making his way over to her. He didn't look impressed but he'd shown up, just like he said he would and with far more grace and far less anger then she had expected.

All the better.

As he sat down across from her Yang would stand, spin her chair around and sit down once again, leaning her front comfortably against the back support. "Good evening." She stated, tone sly as she crossed her arms along the chair's top and rested her chin upon her arm. The girl knew she looked smug and that was fine. The only way he could get out of this was if he broke his promise – he didn't seem like the type. Even if he'd been tricked into it.

She observed him, sitting so straight and proper. He didn't seem pissed but he was tense and though his eyes were usually narrow by nature now they seemed more so. She tried to break the ice.

"Look it wasn't personal. I tried to have a friendly conversation with you more then once and you just blew me off."

He seemed disinterested in her attempt to reconciliate. "I will say one thing before we begin. You will listen or I will leave."

Yang nodded. No fricking way was she going to let him leave. She was here to unravel his threads and if that meant she had to agree to flop around the school acting like an obese walrus she was game. Whatever he wanted to say, his ears were his. She scooted forward and leaned closer to enforce this.

Surprisingly he did the same, leaving very little distance between them as he bore his eyes into hers. Despite herself Yang felt slightly uncomfortable. He wasn't happy and she felt that – clear as day.

"If you ever use Nora like that again to get what you want no one will be able to help you. Not one soul."

Yang felt her heart freeze and her ears burn at the silent menace in his deep tone. Despite herself and all of her training her pupils shrank. Not one part of her doubted even slightly that he was being very serious. Ren had never struck her as a menacing person, or at least not before now, but it was obvious she had crossed a line utilizing Nora to influence Ren. She hadn't considered it at the time but the act itself had been low, no matter how innocent the end to the means was.

"Do you understand?"

She nodded and swallowed just a bit before she replied. "Yeah. Sorry...Ren. I didn't really mean it that way. I just wanted to...know."

With that he leaned back, retaking his seat properly with kingly posture. "Ask your question Yang Xiao Long."

Yang exhaled slowly trying to flush out the feeling that intense moment had left her with the excitement she'd had before. "Alright. So I only get the one question right?"

"Yes."

"And I swear on my life I'll never do anything like that again."

"Good."

She settled herself back into the chair and relaxed her body once more, smirking though perhaps not as pronounced as it would have been moments before. "Alright! So I've thought about this a lot and you can't say no to _anything _ I ask you so here it is!" She paused – dramatic effect was important after all.

"Lie Ren! What's the deal with you and Nora?!"

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There you go. The interrogation begins next chapter. The idea behind this story is to tell Ren and Nora's childhood through Ren's eyes. It will be a narrative delivered through an interview environment. I am unaware if any information regarding their childhood has been released and respectively and for the purpose of this fanfiction I don't really care. This is just an idea. The series is young and so new info is being released all the time. I will stick to my preset and hope that as a reader you enjoy it.

That said, please feel free to submit any sort of comment. Ideas, critism, good review, bad review and insight, everything is welcome. The best part of fandom is interaction with other fans. If you like RWBY, by extension, I like you. 3

Why Grifball? It legitimately would seem like a good game for hunters in training to play. Your enemies are trying to murder you with hammers while you and your team try to get an object to an objective point OR defend your designated objective point. Keen training...however...

Does the idea of Nora playing Grifball mortify anyone else?


	2. Education

So the two challenges I've found with this are:

1\. Flow

2\. It is exceedingly difficult to keep everything from Yang's point of view without offshooting on tangents, or at least for too long.

What I've discovered? Flow for this chapter is impossible, but with reason. You see, I set out to do this in a specific way and its proven to be way ... different then I anticipated. So..we'll just see where it prances off too yes?

Anyway, let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Also, I'm sorry if there are...randomly no quotation marks or random Chinese symbols. When I uploaded it the formatting went whack. So I'm pretty sure I've fixed it. But this is attempt 5 so I might just be cross eyed XD

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**Education**

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"Lie Ren, What's the deal with you and Nora!?"

A silence hung in the air between the two beacon students. Yang felt her perky excitement was so opposite the cool lack of reaction the question had drawn from Ren. He remained as he was, staring at her with only the slightest look of confusion tainting the vibrant colour of his eyes. Either he hadn't understood what she'd meant by the query or some other reason held his tongue.

"Well?" She pushed, not in the mood for patience.

"We're friends." Was the reply.

"Well duh. Doesn't really answer my question."

She watched as the corners of his lip edged downwards ever so subtly. "I don't really know what you're asking."

Yang gave a huff as she let her head fall limp for a brief but dramatic second. She'd lift it again to look at him but found her hair splayed erratically in front of her eyes forcing a 'meep' and a very quick organization to the golden locks. "Don't-" A quick puff of breath would kick the last strands of hair from her face, allowing her to finally catch him without distraction. "Don't toy with me. I know you and Nora are friends. I know you're reaaallly close friends. I know you've been that way for a long time Nora never really lets anyone forget."

She didn't miss the change from confused frown to the shadow of a smile.

"So I didn't ask if you two were friends. I asked: What's the deal? Why are you such good friends? Were your families really close? Did you do all your school together? Heck did you grow up in woods together and fist fight bears for food?! You're gonna have to give me a lot more information then 'We're friends.'"

"Fine. We're good friends."

There was another prolonged drawl of silence filled only by Yang glaring with heat at the male across from her. Her first thought was to threaten him with her Celica or even with a fashionable boot to his decently attractive ass. She forced herself to beat down such violent thoughts though. Threatening someone you wanted information from and wanting to still be friendly with after was a bad idea. Instead she'd take the time to chill out and, with only the slightest edge to her voice, try again.

"You came here so you might as well just spill. Even if you were kind of tricked - my bad and all but you still promised. So just make both our lives easier and-"

"Education is important." Ren's calm tone effectively cut off Yang's tense verbalization with one of his own. This surprised her. Not just the action but what he had said.

"Hey wait, what?"

"You said you wanted to know how Nora and I became close friends. I'm saying it started with the notion that education is important."

Yang was at a loss. Of all the possible dynamics she saw in Ren and Nora's relationship, the idea of education being the main drive was not one. Adjusting her arm she'd rub at her tight neck and quirk her brow while trying to make sense of his statement. "I don't get it."

She watched the young man sigh as though defeated. Even so, the tension he had brought with him never left his body. He didn't seem entirely comfortable but he did seem resigned. That was good enough for Yang. Resigned meant he was gonna start spilling the goods! She just hoped he'd be less pragmatic about it.

"I was the youngest child in a family of four children. My older brothers and sisters were much older then me; the closet having just headed off to Beacon when I entered my third year of school. Having been through child growth three times before, my parents were relatively comfortable with the idea of raising a boy and knew specifically how they wished to do it. Further back than I can remember it was driven into my soul that above anything else; knowledge was power. Going to school and learning as much as I could was the most important thing I could ever do and I was never given a reason to think otherwise."

The blonde beauty noticed his pause as he looked away. She was sitting normally again (or as normally as one could with a chair turned around) and wondering why he'd stopped. She remained quiet however, trying to urge him to finish his thoughts on the matter with patience even though she felt like she had none. Her efforts were rewarded. Though he would not connect eyes with her again, he'd continue.

"One day when I was seven years old I was dropped off at school early just as I always was. My father believed it was healthy to begin the day with exercise so they would place me there earlier then most other kids so I could scamper about. Normally I'd just read. Some days though I'd find myself wrapped up in a soccer game or some other means of school yard play.

It was early September and I was caught up in a game of tag. Horrible game. You single one person out and laugh and run away from them. Anyway. I usually kept to myself so I wasn't very familiar with everyone my age. I remember being tagged and being...annoyed by it. So I found what I thought would be the easiest target, the easiest way to get rid of the onus of being the odd one out. There was a girl just standing there in the group, watching everyone with big eyes but not moving. So I rushed her, slapped her shoulder and said. 'You're it.'"

Yang couldn't stop herself from interrupting. "Wait you met Nora just playing tag?"

"No." He responded. "I connected with another child during a game of tag. I met a Valkyrie after a half an hour of running away from an overbearingly persistent pursuit. Apparently she wasn't familiar with the rules of tag. To her, I had just hit her then mocked her and caused all the other kids to laugh at and run away from her."

The two shared a pause. Yang awkwardly scratched at her brow as she contemplated that. She found she could only agree. "Whoa. Tag really IS a horrible game."

"Yes." Was the flat reply. "She chased me all over the schoolyard. I didn't really understand why she was chasing me, but...it was scary, so I ran. I dove into a tire fort that was part of the schools playground and thought if I stayed there I was safe. I wasn't. She found me, and punched me a few times in the arm; called me a jerk. I guess she probably would have left afterwards were we both not so tired."

Yang chortled abruptly. "Heh...Tired...in a Tire fort." She was positive she'd never once received such a bland look of distaste in all of her life. "Hey, it's funny!"

"We just sat there across from one another heaving and panting. I didn't know what had just happened but I really felt like it was my fault in some way. Once I could breath, I apologized. Apparently that was the smartest thing I could have done. She perked up immediately and waved it off before patting me on the head and running off again."

Yang lifted her head from crossed armed and smirked a bit as she imagined the scene. "Yeah that sounds like Nora. Always the same."

The blonde brawler was a bit stunned by the small smile this enticed from Ren. The smile itself wasn't so much what caused her surprise but rather the emotion reflected upon his face. Nostalgia was obviously weighing heavily upon him and in a way it seemed like her comment made him want to laugh at her; but not in a way that was jovial. Her interest piqued even more then it had been before, Yang settled herself back in an made a motion with her hand for him to continue.

She was further surprised when he did.

"I didn't really think anymore about it. I went to class, finished the day and went home. The next day in the morning, I sat outside and I read. I lost myself in the book only to be pulled from it's pages by the niggling feeling I was being watched. When I peered up, at first I found no one. Confused I looked to the side and was surprised to see I was only inches from someone else. I don't think I've ever been startled so bad in my life since that day. Once I regained my wits, and the girl stopped laughing at me she asked what I was reading. Ruffled, I stayed quiet and tried to continue to read, hoping that she would go away. She didn't, instead she started reading over my shoulder."

Yang gave a smirk as she felt some giddy mirth begin to bubble in her. Cute even as kids it seemed! "Hung off ya even then huh?"

He shook his head briefly while releasing a near silent sigh. "No, she maintained distance. Even tried to act like she wasn't doing anything when I looked back at her. The whole thing was distracting. When I finally said something she froze, almost panicked."

A hand shot up into the air as Yang physically demanded that he stop right there. She'd blink slowly once to wrap her head around the information she was receiving. "Hold on. Stop. You're trying to tell me that Nora was shy?!"

"Weren't you shy meeting new people when you were little?"

"Well yeah!" Yang would exclaim. "But I'm not happy bouncy, spin in circles, tell everyone everything I'm thinking Nora! There's no way I can believe that!"

"So I'm a liar then?"

"Well no but-!"

Ren would sigh once again, though this time it was much more pronounced. His narrow eyes found purchase on his interrogator allowing his even tone to relay how bothered he was with the notion of being labelled dishonest. "I've agreed to answer your silly question even though I was tricked into it. In that I've agreed to answer honestly and to your perimeters. I gave my word and I don't lie." She caught the hidden edge in his quiet voice. He was challenging her to press the issue; to call him a liar again. She still really couldn't believe what she was being told but his little stand was enough assurance that he wasn't pulling her leg. In the end all she could do was let her arm fall and shrug in defeat.

"Alright, she was shy."

There was a span of time before he'd speak again. During the heavy silence the two locked eyes in a tense battle of presence. The experience was offsetting for Yang. Not in the sense that she felt threatened by the Lie boy but rather in the fact that he seemed to be completely un-threatened by her. She had always thought him to be the quiet, intellectual type that remained behind everyone in an attempt to avoid heated situations or interaction. Not a coward but someone of silent uncertainty. Here, what she found was something very different. She had offended him and he not only addressed that offence but now openly stood his ground against her regarding it. Yang felt a bit put off by it of course, but also felt she had to respect it.

Finally his soft voice would ring. "I told her that she could sit with me and read the book. Normally it wasn't a thing I would have done. My things were my things and I wasn't very fond of sharing but with this girl I felt like I owed her something after what had happened the day before. I turned back to the first page and held it out so she'd be able to read as well. All would have been fine if she...hadn't started to read out-loud...I..."

Yang would watch as the slightly tense plane of his young face would contort as if the memory caused a small measure of pain. She'd laugh, then try to disguise it as a cough, then cleared her throat as though she had been serious the entire time. "You?"

"I couldn't handle it. Her reading was atrocious. E's were always sounded as 'EE' never as 'EH', her O's were always prolonged, her concept of syllables was misconstrued and if she was intimidated by a word she'd just make one up. On top of consistent mispronunciation it was painful to listen too. Quickly, I started correcting her. Soon, that was all I was doing. In a half an hour we read three pages and I had two brand new bruises on my arm. She thought I was mocking her when I really wasn't . As briefly as possible I tried to explain: knowledge that is wrong is detrimental. Proper knowledge was key to everything, and it was important that she knew these things properly. Education would give her that."

"That's a pretty big life lesson for a seven year old."

"I didn't fully understand it then either. It was more repetition from my parents. That line was like a mantra in my household but at the time, I thought it was just fact.

We were both frustrated with each other but neither of us left. In fact it wasn't until the morning bell rang that I moved, though I'll admit I was glad when I did. I had infinite patience for things and time, but almost none for people. The second I heard the chime, I snapped the book shut and quickly walked off. Imagine my surprise when only a few steps later my path was blocked by a little girl in offset pigtails.

That, Yang Xiao Long, is when I met Nora. And she wouldn't let me leave without my name."

"And you gave it to her right?" The blonde would interject in a way that projected abrupt excitement, masking an undertone of potential anger. She knew that she shouldn't get so involved in these stories, but part of her really couldn't help it. In a way, she knew how this tale ended and that allowed her to to justify her investment. Ren and Nora were the best of friends now, so if little Ren had been mean to little Nora it seemed fair that big Yang should kick big Ren's ass. His nod of affirmation made any anger vanish however.

"Then I went to class. I honestly didn't think much of it, I thought her introduction had just been a formality. Just as the day before, everything was normal afterwards. During school, after school, the evening at home had no change. It wasn't until I arrived at school the next morning that something was different. I made my way over to the same bench to read my book in peace. What I was met with the dirt smudged face of a little girl, smiling from ear to ear waiting for me."

A shadow of a smile would tug an upturn to his thin lips, allowing the giddy to churn gleefully in Yang's stomach.

"When I asked her what she was doing, her smile turned as serious as she could muster, which wasn't very serious at all, and she said: "Education is important! Right Ren?"

* * *

And there you have it. Undenyable proof the dolphins own Pepsi.

What do you mean this is the wrong fanfiction for that ...Damn it now the government will be after me!

Edit: I've gone over it again...hopefully it's fixed now!


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